Senior photos - C&C please!

[311Hemi]

A month ago a co-worker asked me if I would shoot her sons senior photos, and with hesitation I agreed. I figured this would be a good way to force me into uncomfortable territory, but something that I am interested in getting more into more. Basically, I told her that I would do it with the stipulation that they may not turn out and really not much of a cost to her if they did (mainly just gas to get to their house)...as it was a good learning experience for me. They are not very picky to begin with....so I am sure any shots would really work for them.

Anyways, I got out with them a few weeks ago and here are a couple shots that I was looking for C&C on. What works or what does not work? Be honest....I really would like to know what things I could do to improve (sharpness, lighting, anything). I have already gained a good amount of learning in this process...just as far as some shots I wish I would have taken, composition, PSE....among other things. I have edited these to a point.

Edit: Looking at these on another monitor it looks like saturation seems off on picture #2 and maybe #4?

[Todd Caswell]

number 1 for me.

# 2 the background seems a bit to busy, my eye instantly focused on that

# 3 Is nice and sharp but maybe cropped or framed a bit too tight

# 4 I like, and maybe its my monitor but it seems a bit soft or out of focus.

Jusy my opinion and it's not worth a whole lot.

[311Hemi]

Thanks Todd, and I agree with your comments...especially the softness on some of the images. Not sure what was going on....but a lot of my shots seemed to be soft in the face and I was not very pleased with that. I think I need to really work on my technique, especially in low light conditions. Lighting was tough (I have not artificial yet) and I found myself shooting at 800 ISO, sometime 1600...all while hand held. I was nervous to boot (shaking a little at the beginning) so that did not help with the slow shutter speeds.

#3 is cropped quite a bit, and this is part of the composition piece I was talking about. I found I did not take enough close up head shots....so I tried to make this work.

[Dbl]

I will try and give you some feedback on your shots 311Hemi since you are looking for honest opinions. Keep in mind these are my opinions only, you appear to have accomplished what you set out to do and you have some results that pleased both of you. Congratulations on that! I hope I don’t come off as harsh, it is not my intent! I am hoping you will have a different way to look at your shots and come away with some items that will help you next time out.

First off I believe you mentioned you don't have lights. Each of these shots would benefit from some form of light, a simple reflector would do. He has dark eyes which look very lifeless without some form of catch light. A reflector or better yet a flash on low power will give the eyes some twinkle and give some energy back to the photos.

The white balance appears to be very inconsistent on each of the shots. #1 looks the closest to correct, #2 is very warm, #3 is not bad, and #4 is cool. Use of a grey card or a collapsible card like a Lasolite Ezybalance or the like is a requirement. I set a custom white balance using one of these at every location or light change. Saves a ton of work later!

The other important element is the subject himself. Often you want to highlight the person and not the environment. That is evident in #2 and #4. Clothing selection, short sleeves show too much skin which competes with the face. You want your eye drawn to the face! It looks odd to be in a tee shirt with snow on the ground!

#1 Maybe the best of the bunch. I am bothered somewhat by the leaning body and the leaning tree. It throws off the sense of balance in the shot for me. I like the softness of the background, it emphasizes the face. As previously mentioned a bit of light from a reflector would bring some life to those eyes.

#2 Very distracting background causing you to lose the face, the book in the hand which adds no context to the shot. The pose is forced looking along with his smile. He doesn't look comfortable with this pose. The colors are off here with a yellow cast. Be careful posing the arms. The left arm resting on the leg gives the forearm a popeye look to it.

#3 This one has potential but a few things don't work for me. The branch in the background growing out of the left ear, the forced smile, no light in the eyes, which also gives the face a flat look. The color of the sweatshirt doesn't compliment his darker hair and complexion. It does look soft to me as well. For men, tilt the head slightly toward the lower shoulder and forward, for women tilt the head toward the higher shoulder and slightly back.

#4 The subject is competing with all the elements around him. This shot looks to be slightly overexposed. Again the clothing choice seems to contrast with the surroundings. The wagon wheel distracts and intrudes on him.

Now for the good news, what works? Good for you in moving outside your comfort zone. You have done a credible job with him and both of you should be pleased with your results. You tried a variety of different poses and shots, though I would narrow them down a bit and concentrate on the subject not the environment.

Suggestions for the future, would be acquire a flash or reflector learn to use them to your advantage! Study up on some posing does and don't. Work on color consistency. Read some suggestions on clothing choice based on the subject and environment. Stay relaxed and engaging with your subject. They can sense your anxiousness and will be a bit tense and not relaxed and loose. This of course comes with practice and photographing more people.

You are well on your way to success and a lot of fun just by looking for suggestions on improvement. I applaud your courage and willingness to open up your work for us! I look forward to seeing some of your future photos. Good work!

[311Hemi]

Thanks Dbl, this is the type of feedback I am looking for. I really appreciate your comments and time! This was very much a learning experience and any feedback I can get will be very useful for me to reflect on going forward. I am still learning the basics of this hobby and now have a number of areas to focus my attention and work on.

As for the background in #2 and #4 (and the book), these were specific requests from my co-worker as they were special to their family and they wanted some shots in these scenes. I'm not sure if I could have composed the shots better and still included these items, although I certainly could have gone for a softer background.

[Dbl]

Glad I could be of a small amount of help, I don't want to appear harsh but I was trying to give you my first impressions. As to the requests on backgrounds you have to make them happy, that is foremost! I think I might have tried a few different things to help with blending them more into your composition. Shoot with him a bit further away so you could see the background in soft focus yet keep the interest on him. Different angles high to low and left to right...hard to say without seeing it but you will start to see different possibilities the more you do this. Again you've done well and I hope your friends are pleased!

[311Hemi]

The C&C was exactly what I was looking for (and it's actually a lot of help), so no worries there. Hard to know what isn't working (or how to improve) unless you have someone critiquing your work, at least for me.

I agree on the shooting the subject a bit further away from the background....I realized that on a number of my shots after I uploaded them.

One question, when using a reflector I would assume you usually need to reflect a certain light source....such as the sun or a flash? On a cloudy day a is a reflector useful at all if you don't have a flash?

[Dbl]

One question, when using a reflector I would assume you usually need to reflect a certain light source....such as the sun or a flash? On a cloudy day a is a reflector useful at all if you don't have a flash?

I have found even on a cloudy day though not great a reflector will add some light, especially if there is some snow on the ground. Under bright sunlight you will actually find it a bit more difficult to use because it can really concentrate the light. Then you have a subject squinting! Reflectors are pretty cheap options, I have a couple of flip and fold 5 in 1's in a 41" or 42" size that do a credible job. I am sure they were around $30 or $35.

[WifeKidsandDog]

I don't mind them. I like the curve in the first one, I think the color over his cheeks is a little washed out. The lighting is flat and maybe you did Auto Contrast or Auto Levels in PP which made the highlight too high on his face. I think it would pop a bit more if the skin tone was more even.

The skin tones look too warm to me in the second shot and the background is a bit busy, but even adding a vignette would put more focus on the subject and separate him from the background.

I like this one but the skin tones need to be more even and definitely some light in the eyes. If you have any light areas in the eyes, going over them with a dodge tool in PP can add a little bit of sparkle.

I don't like the crop on the last one, it seems neither here nor there, I'd probably crop it so he's more on the left. I think it's the kind of image that would work well in sepia and with a vignette too.

I'm venturing into the senior market. Shot a few over the summer and it was fun but a leap in the learning curve. I have a flash but I much prefer using a reflector -- use a parent as an assistant or bring one along (my husband is my official photography assistant, ha ha).

I think his parents will be happy. There's good eye contact and nice smiles. And I think all of the photos could be taken up a notch with a little more post processing.

Cheryl

[Hwood]

Good for you on helping others out and giving it a shot. I am not a pro and dont have any tips to give but I do see some color issues on some of the shots, such as 2 & 4. #1 works for me. He looks good and I like the back ground. He does look a little cold however with the red fingers and his face looks a bit pale. I can see from what Dan is saying one not only needs to work his camera- deal with the light but also work the subject.

[leech~~]

311, off the subject and I don't know you or the kid in the pic. But some parents really don't want their kids pictuers posted on the internet without their permission. Maybe you know your co-worker well enough and it's was ok? Just throwing out a caution!